NML Academy
by AdrenalineRush16
Summary: Most high schoolers don’t like going to school. But what if they could go to a school where Newsies and only Newsies is discussed? Now that’d be fun! An NML fic. CASTING CALL IS NOW CLOSED!
1. Welcome!

Disclaimer:_ Disney owns Newsies, I own Addie-Adren, T.A.R.K. is owned by Stress/Quipster, and all other characters own themselves. :D_

Author's Note: _No, this isn't just a random OC meets & falls in love with a newsie story. This is an NML high school fic, where the newsboys of our beloved film are only mentioned. NML fics don't come up as much anymore, which is the reason for this one. Hopefully you NMLers will like it. :)_**  
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**Newsies Mailing List Academy**

**Welcome!**

Addie Rushing stared up at the black gates in front of her. They were tall and NMLA was etched in gold letters on the front. The gates looked forbidding and Addie gulped, clutching her knapsack. This wasn't what she expected.

It had taken Addie, or Adren (short for Adrenaline) nearly a year of straight begging for her parents to even consider sending their daughter to a high school boarding school. Adren had spent hours harping over and tweaking her application and the reasons why she should be allowed into the academy. She had spent every waking moment she had researching Newsies on the internet, hoping to find a fact she didn't know already. Because in order to get into the NMLA, you had to pass a test. A test about _Newsies_ that focused on every single detail possible. Addie still shuddered at the thought of question #157: who, if anyone was dubbed in the movie? This of course was a trick question; it is a great controversy in the Newsies universe as to if Ele Keats was indeed dubbed in the song "Once and For All". There were simpler questions thankfully, such as 'was/is Delancey Street real?' and 'who was the director of BDHONS?' Adren still had breathed a sigh of relief when the test was over though.

She still couldn't believe she had gotten into the academy of her dreams. The Newsies Mailing List Academy only accepted three hundred girls a year and to get in was a great honor. The NMLA was revered all over as being the top _Newsies_ high school in the world.

Adren was still scared though. Most _Newsies _fans were nice to be sure, but Adren, like every other fangirl knew, that there were only twenty newsboys and hundreds of fangirls. This was never a good mix in any fandom, and _Newsies_ was no exception. Adren thanked her lucky stars she had remembered not to sign up for Debate class. Debate wasn't a typical class taken by freshmen and for good reason; most couldn't handle it. Adren, like everyone else, definitely wouldn't be able to. Seniors and juniors knew more about _Newsies _and it'd be hard to go up against one of the NML oldies.

Adren didn't want to get caught in an ownership fight either, which was fairly common since all fangirls squabble about who gets which character. But nothing comes close to a who-is-better fight. Jack fangirls and Spot fangirls could get ruthless and Adren knew this. Luckily for her however, her favorite newsie wasn't Jack or Spot. Her favorite was Itey. She would get tingles up and down her spine, thinking of the dark haired newsboy.

Adren sighed dreamily and then shook herself. She still had to get settled into her dorm before classes started. Marching up to the gates, Adren tentatively knocked on them.

A voice cackled at her. "WHAT?"

Adren jumped back, holding up her duffle bag for protection. Peeking over it, she noticed that there was a small tollbooth standing beside the gates. Adren walked up to it and gingerly tapped the side.

"WHAT?" the voice again barked at her and this time, someone actually showed up. A red headed kid, wearing the typical 1899 standard clothing, popped up from the tollbooth and glared at Adren. "What do you want girlie?" he snapped.

Adren was so in shock; she didn't know what to say. At first, seeing the redheaded kid's attire, she thought he might be a newsboy. But after looking at his face, she realized that he wasn't one of her beloved newsboys and quickly shut off the instinctive 'squee' about to come out of her.

Before Adren could answer, the boy hopped out of his tollbooth and stood in front of her, tapping his left foot (which Adren noticed did not have a sock on it). "Get the lead outta your pants," he shouted again. "and answer me!"

Adren gasped. She'd know that line anywhere. "OMMG!" she screamed. (OMMG stood for 'oh my Michael Goorjian' of course, since Adren was a _Newsies _fan and did not want to use the typical 'omg' phrase. That and she stole it from her friend Smiley.) "You're the annoying red-headed kid from the distribution center!" she yelled.

T.A.R.K. (for that was his name) scowled. "I am not annoying," he snapped. "I just—"

"T.A.R.K.! Oh T.A.R.K.!" a feminine voice called.

T.A.R.K.'s eyes went wide. "I'm not here!" he whispered frantically, leaping back into his tollbooth and shutting the window.

Before Adren could comprehend what had just happened, a girl came into her sight on the other side of the fence. "T.A.R.K.! I know you're in there!" she said sternly looking at the tollbooth. She then caught sight of Adren. "Hello there!" she greeted warmly. "Who are you?"

Adren was too dazed to figure out the question. The girl in front of her looked normal, but after Adren's encounter with T.A.R.K., she was a bit leery. The girl seemed tall compared to Adren, who was only five one. She had curly blondish brown hair with green eyes. She was wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt and light blue jeans.

"I'm a freshman," Adren said timidly, finally regaining what sense she had left.

The other girl laughed. "Well, I'm a senior. I'm Jess, but you can call me Stress. That's my NN. Do you have one?"

"Adrenaline," Adren answered. "But my real name is Addie." She began playing with her auburn hair while nervously fingering her tank top straps. Both were bad habits of hers, but she never seemed to be able to break it.

"Cool," Stress said opening the gate and beckoning Adren inside. Adren cautiously walked to Stress, still holding her duffle bag in a death grip.

"Don't worry about T.A.R.K.," Stress said warmly. "He's always snappy. Come on, I'll show ya the school." Stress started to walk down the path going to the school. Adren followed her, casting one last look at T.A.R.K.'s tollbooth. Then she ran to catch up to Stress who was whistling "Santa Fe".

Adren nearly fell over, when they got to the main building. It was the exact replica of Pulitzer's newspaper headquarters, The World. The gold glistened in the sunlight. Adren's mouth dropped.

Stress laughed at her reaction. "It's great isn't it?"

Adren could only nod. Stress pointed to the right of the building. "The dorms are over there and most classes are held to the left in the Manhattan building. I'll give you the official tour later if you like."

Adren nodded, still in awe. Stress grinned, turning towards Adren. Adren looked at the other girl as Stress spat in her hand and held it out.

"Welcome to the NML Academy."

* * *

Author's Note:_ FF girls, if you'd like to send in an application and make an appearance, go to the link on my homepage. Please read all of it, especially the rules. _

_For this chapter, I apologize that only Stress made an appearance. I wasn't really planning on that, but you kinda crept in there Stress! ;) For the rest of you girls, you'll probably show up next chapter. :)  
_

_Thanks for reading and CTB!_

_-Adren_

_P.S. To those who read __The Newsbunny Hutch, that fic is not abandoned. As soon as some newsbunnies hop into my head, I'll begin posting again. :)_**  
**


	2. Say Cheese!

Disclaimer:_ See chapter one.

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**Say Cheese!**

"So what dorm are you in?" Stress asked leading Adren into The World building.

Adren pulled out her slip of paper that had her personal information on it. "Uh, Manhattan," she read.

"A Manhattanite," Stress said nodding. "Cool. I'm in Queens."

"I thought most people didn't like Queens," Adren said confused. "Every fanfic I've ever read has had Queens as the villain."

"Yeah," Stress shrugged. "But plenty of girls apply to be in the Queens dorm anyway. I don't know why." The pair kept walking until they reached a door.

"Here I'll have to leave you," Stress said dramatically as Adren placed her hand on the doorknob.

Adren quickly yanked her hand from the knob and jumped back. "Why?" she asked suspiciously. If there was another crazy distribution boy in there… Well, unless it was Morris. Adren adored Morris Delancey almost as much as Itey.

Stress put up her hands. "Hey, no worries! I just gotta go back to T.A.R.K. That's why I came over to the gate in the first place." She winked. "But don't worry; I leave you in the capable hands of Polaroid. She'll take your picture for your ID card."

"Oh, okay." Adren visibly relaxed, though slightly disappointed Morris wouldn't be inside the closet. Though that was more of a Skittery thing…

"I'll talk to ya later then!" Stress waved. "And don't forget—JACK IS MINE!"

Adren nodded. "Must be her favorite newsie," she mumbled as she turned the doorknob.

Entering a small room, Adren immediately saw that the room was empty except for three objects: a black tripod with a camera sitting on top of it in the middle of the room; a pink background with hearts all over it standing seven feet in front of the tripod. Fixing the pink curtain was a girl. She looked about 5.6" with dark brown hair. She was wearing dark jeans and a t-shirt on. When the girl turned around, Adren saw that the shirt had NEW YORK in patriotic colors in the front along with a picture of the Statue of Liberty below it. ****

"Hello!" the girl said softly, gracefully coming over to spit-shake with Adren. "I'm Polaroid," she continued, still soft-spoken. "Are you here to get your ID picture taken?"

_At least she isn't in my face like that Stress girl_, Adren thought as she nodded.

"Great," Polaroid said smiling. "Stand over there," she said pointing to the curtain and going to her camera. "So who's your favorite newsie?"

"Itey, but I love Morris too," Adren said, standing awkwardly in front of the curtain.

"Cool," Polaroid answered, adjusting her camera and then going over to Adren. "Mine is Bumlets." She stopped, sighed dreamily and then shook herself. "Sorry," she said sheepishly.

Adren grinned. "We all do it."

"Yeah." Polaroid pulled the pink curtain down, replacing it with blue. She stepped back and studied it critically. "Yeah, I think you'd look good on blue," she finally said and stepped back to the camera.

"Smile!" she cried, her voice muffled in the camera. Adren beamed and a flash went off. Polaroid popped back up. "Looks great," she said grinning.

"So is that it?" Adren asked, taking up her duffle bag again.

"Yeah," Polaroid said. "You'll get your ID card within a couple days. Until then, just use the slip of paper you got in the mail."

"Okay, thanks," Adren said smiling, a bit overwhelmed.

Polaroid seemed to sense it. "Nervous?" she asked. "I was too my freshman year. And even in my junior year, I get scared coming back," she laughed nervously. "What dorm are you in?"

"Manhattan," Adren answered.

"Brooklyn is better," Polaroid said, smiling a little. "I'll talk to you later though okay?"

"Sure," Adren started towards the door. "Thanks again!"

_Boy, these girls sure are different,_ Adren mused as she headed towards the Manhattan dorm. _But they're nice too._

She was so busy thinking that she bumped into a girl coming out of the door. "Shoot!" Adren cried, trying to steady the girl in front of her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the girl picked up the book she dropped.

"Sorry about that," Adren apologized. "I'm kind of a klutz."

"Meh, it's okay." The girl said, brushing herself off. "I usually am too." Adren got a good look of the girl in front of her. She wasn't that much taller than Adren, maybe 5'4" with black wavy hair. Her eyes were brown and she was wearing black leggings with a gray sweatshirt. The girl extended her hand. "I'm Pegasus by the way."

"Adrenaline," Adren said, spit shaking back. "You can call me Adren."

Pegasus grinned. "Call me Peg if you want. Are you a freshman?"

"Is it that obvious?" Adren smiled.

Pegasus laughed. "Nah, I just don't recognize you. I'm a senior so I feel like I'm supposed to know everyone."

Adren smiled. She liked Pegasus already. "Are you in this dorm?" she asked hopefully.

Pegasus looked surprised. "Manhattan? No, I'm in Queens."

"Do you know Stress?" Adren asked timidly.

Peg's eyes widened. "You know Stress?" she asked excitedly. "Stress is one of my best friends, not to mention my roomie."

"Oh," Adren was a little disappointed. "I was hoping to know someone in my dorm."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Pegasus advised. "We're NMLers; all of us are pretty friendly. Try Braids if you need help though. She's also a senior and in Manhattan."

"Okay, thanks." Adren said smiling. _Maybe it won't be so bad…_

"CTB!" Peg waved and headed towards the main buildings.

Taking a deep breath, Adren hefted her bag again and walked into the Manhattan dorm.

* * *

Author's Note_: Stress, I was totally kidding about that "in your face" thing. You know I love you. ;D Okay, so far I have:_

_Brooklyn__:__ Polaroid, Misfit, BG, Game_

_Queens__:__ Stress, Peg, Mel, Hair, Prince_

_Manhattan__:__ Braids, Adren, Repeat, Corky_

_Seniors__: Stress, Pegasus, Braids_

_Juniors__: Polaroid, BG, Corky, Game_

_Sophomores__: Melody, Hair, Prince_

_Freshmen__: Adren, Misfit_

_Roommates__: Stress/Peg, Adren/Repeat, Hair/Prince_

_If I missed your name or got something really wrong with you, please tell me and I'll fix it. I apologize that only a few girls are coming in at a time; I'm not writing my favorite girls/good friends first; it's just the way the story is running. More and more of you will appear as the story goes on, don't fret._

_Repeat (pen 'n notebook) suggested two more classes; Original Script study and the Music of Newsies study. If you're interested in appearing in those classes, please tell me in a review or PM. :D_

_Thanks for all the support and CTB!_

_-Adren_

_P.S. Is Adren coming off as Sue-ish to anyone? Don't be afraid to tell me if she is!_


	3. Manhattan Dorm

_My goodness you guys are nice to me! :D Your compliments really boost my esteem. :) I just want to apologize for not replying to every review. My free time has been severely shrunk and I don't have as much time to write nice replies back. More often than not, I'll sound very redundant. So unless it is something urgent that must be answered, I probably won't reply. Again, I'm very sorry about this but please don't think of it as a snub. I really appreciate all your reviews. :D_

_Also, major love to Pegasus this chapter; I had been in a writer's block slump and she pulled me out. ~hugs~ Thanks Peg!

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**Manhattan**** dorm**

Manhattan dorm was unlike any dorm Adren had ever seen. Oh sure, there was the typical lounge with some couches and a TV, but what other dorm had Adren ever seen where there was a huge Kloppman cutout waving hi to her on the way in? Or the biggest poster of _Newsies_ that she had ever seen pasted proudly against the back wall?

Adren walked cautiously past the cutout and went up to the small table set up in the entryway. She vaguely wondered why the dorm wasn't set up like the Manhattan LH, but she decided that was irrelevant. In front of her was a small table and sitting there were two girls. One had two French braids in her hair and seemed to be about 5'6". She was wearing jeans, purple flip-flops and a tight fitted purple tee-shirt. She had a grave, concentrated look on her face as she scribbled down words onto the piece of paper in front of her.

The girl beside the other had reddish brown hair, with freckles on her grinning face. A pair of glasses covered her hazel eyes. She was wearing dark blue jeans, high top sneakers and a baggy t-shirt with a flannel shirt over it. She was giggling with the other girl until she saw Adren. Then she squealed.

Leaping up, the girl raced over to Adren and literally glomped her. "HI! I'M CORKY!" she practically shouted in Adren's face. "Ya know why dey call me dat?" she cried, a faint New York accent slipping into her speech. "Cuz I'm like a cork in the water; I just bounce back once you push me down!" she giggled.

Adren was ready to run back out the door by the time Corky let go. True, Adren was often called a huggy-bear by her family, but when going to a new place, Adren was a tad shy. And after the T.A.R.K. incident, the Stress incident, the collision with Pegasus, and now a way too bouncy Corky, Adren was more than frayed.

Luckily for Adrenaline, the other girl with Corky quickly moved to the intercept the two. "Sorry about Corky," the girl apologized. "She just had a couple of energy drinks and shouldn't really be doing this job. She's our only girl available right now though." Like Polaroid, the girl talked a bit softer, but it seemed like she was simply shy of the new girl and not typically soft-spoken. "I'm Braids," the girl introduced.

"Adren," Adren shakily said, glancing warily at Corky, yet feeling a strange fondness to the girl already. If Adren had been comfortable and settled, she was certain she and Corky would be friends. Adren loved hugs.

"Sorry," Corky seemed to be trembling, from the sugar high Adren assumed. She still grinned though. "Are you a freshman?"

Adren nodded. "Yeah, I'm supposed to be in- uh," she whipped out her trusty sheet of paper again. "Room 102," she read.

Braids nodded. "I'll lead you there if you want," she offered. "Don't kill anyone else new Corky," her last comment was directed at her companion.

Corky grinned. "Would I do that?"

"Yes," Braids answered simply and turned on her heel, Adren trotting after her.

* * *

"This is your room," Braids said leading Adren to the ground hallway and handing her a key. The two went in. "Looks like a great view," she said, gazing out the window.

Adren just took in the room for a moment. It wasn't very big, - dorm rooms seldom are - and it was very bare. A window was across from the doorway. There was a high bunk bed beside the tall window. Two small, but deep dressers were shoved underneath the bottom bunk. Two desks were side by side on the right side wall. A large closet was on the opposite wall of the bunk bed and a tall wardrobe that reached the top bunk stood beside the bunk bed. Besides the obvious pieces of furniture, the room and walls were bare.

Catching Adren's look, Braids smiled gently. "It looks kind of unfriendly now, but just wait until you guys unpack. The room will look a lot more friendly once you get your posters and bedding out."

Adren nodded, though still a bit disheartened. "Do you know who my roommate is?" she finally asked.

Braids shook her head. "No, but I can check if you want. She'll probably be here soon anyway."

"Okay," Adren set her duffle bag on one of the desks. Suddenly she felt very lonely.

"Want to come back downstairs with Corky and me?" Braids asked kindly. "It can be a bit scary when you first come."

Looking around her, Adren slowly shook her head. "Nah, I better unpack," she said uncertainly. "Just so things look a little more…lived in."

Braids smiled. "I understand. Just come down if you need anything."

"Okay," Adren said absently and she sank into a chair. Just as Braids started out the door- "Wait!"

Braids turned around and Adren smiled shyly. "What grade are you in?"

Braids smiled. "Senior. I'm also down the hallway, so don't be scared to holler if you need something."

Adren was able to smile fully at that. "Thanks Braids."

"No prob," the girl walked out the door and Adren sighed. Being on her own all of a sudden, even in a school full of newsie-freaks, was very scary. Especially the roommate situation; what if the girl didn't like Adren, or vise versa? Adren couldn't imagine not liking a _Newsies_ fan, but she knew it was possible. Heaving another sigh, Adren unzipped her bag and began to place clothes in her dresser drawers. (Each dresser had three drawers.)

Just as Adren was about to begin unpacking stuff onto her desk, she heard quiet footsteps near the door. She quickly turned around and found herself staring at a girl in the doorway who Adren assumed to be her roommate.

The girl in front of her had blond hair and pretty green eyes. She was about 5'5" and Adren immediately felt short again in her 5'1" stature. The blond had on a cute green top that had a black pen with a notebook on it. She was wearing blue jeans and black ballet flats.

The two girls stared at one another, obviously unsure of what to say. Finally the other girl smiled and Adren felt perfectly at ease. "I'm Adren," she said, strolling over to the girl.

The blond spit in her hand and held it out. "Mine name is Repeat," she said still smiling.

Adren spit-shook with her and suddenly blurted out; "I like your t-shirt."

Repeat looked down and grinned. "It fits me," she explained. "I always have to have a pen and notebook with me in case an idea pops into my head."

Adren nodded. 'That makes sense. Why are you called Repeat then?"

Repeat blushed. "I tend to listen to music, especially _Newsies_ on repeat all the time."

Adren grinned. "Funny."

"So how did you get your nickname?" Repeat asked as the two girls walked into the dorm, Adren on her chosen desk and Repeat sitting on the bottom bunk.

"It's short for Adrenaline," Adren explained. "One of the first fanfics I read mentioned adrenaline rushes a lot and finally I looked it up, not really getting what adrenaline was," She blushed. "After a while, I just started calling myself Adrenaline and when I needed my NN, I just shortened it to Adren."

"What's your real name then?" Repeat asked.

"Addie," Adren answered. "What's yours?"

"Sarah," The two fell into a comfortable silence until Repeat finally broke it. "Top or bottom bunk?" she asked grinning. "I'd like the bottom if you don't mind."

"Top is fine with me." Adren answered and the two girls smiled at the each other.

Adrenaline knew right then and there that things were going to be just fine.

* * *

_Cheesy? Maybe. Fun? Heck yeah! ;D _

_My apologies to Repeat for missing her on the junior list. :( I didn't mean it! I hope your appearance makes up for that. (Yes, I did just throw that pen and notebook thing in for kicks. Obviously, you would get it. ;D) CC is still open (hilo); all grades and classes are still open. And for the girls who have appeared, more information about you will come up at random points during the fic. For those who haven't appeared yet, I'm hoping to get you in next chapter. More girls probably will show up. :) _

_Until next time!_

_-Adren_

_P.S. Corky: I'm not sure if you're that hyper in real life, but with a lot of sugar, I could picture it. Can you? ;D  
_


	4. Exploring part 1

_Disclaimer: All previous statements still stand._

**A/N:** It should be universally acknowledged that after every chapter I'll probably have writer's block and an hour long chat with Pegasus will be the only remedy. The chat that spurred this chapter happened two weeks ago, but I still used it. So, unless stated otherwise, assume that Peg is once again responsible for this update. *applauds* ;D Enjoy.

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**Exploring part 1  
**

Unpacking didn't take long. Repeat and Adren soon found themselves sitting awkwardly in the dorm room, unsure of what to do next. "Stress said she'd take me on a tour later," Adren finally said, not sure what to do.

"Where is she though?" Repeat asked glumly.

Adren shrugged. "Probably unpacking with Pegasus."

Repeat looked up and smiled. "It's kind of funny how you already know several girls and you've only been here a couple of hours. And I'm the junior here!"

Adren laughed. "You're new though too!"

It was true. Repeat had switched to the NML Academy from a normal school in the Midwest. The way she had described to Adren seemed like Repeat didn't want to talk about it. She sounded like a victim of bullying from other teenagers and Adren decided it would be smart to keep her mouth shut.

"Why don't we go exploring?" Adren suggested and the pair quickly got up to walk around. Adren had never seen the whole campus before, due to NMLA's policy about visitors. The campus itself was filled with buildings with random pathways and mini monuments in between. One of the said monuments was a replica of the infamous Horace Greeley statue, stationed proudly in front of The World building. Both Repeat and Adren stood in reverence for a moment, until Repeat turned and slyly asked Adren; "You think people actually sleep on Greeley's lap?"

"I would," Adren said giggling. "Or at least just hang out on it."

"Stand on his knees yelling 'strike!' like Jack did." Repeat giggled. "That'd be really fun!"

After one last shared laugh, the two girls set out again, this time going to The World building. Though Adren had been in the building just a few hours beforehand, she still was awed by the size of the building. It was a total replica of Pulitzer's headquarters, complete with a shining gold dome and balcony.

"Hey there's Polaroid!" Repeat pointed out as the chestnut haired girl walked out of a room along with a pretty blond. Adren also recognized the girl who had taken the I.D. pictures and the two roommates walked over the two girls.

"Hello again!" Polaroid greeted warmly. "Doing a tour?"

"Yeah," Adren replied. "Mostly exploring."

Polaroid nodded. "Cool. By the way girls, this is Cinderella," she introduced the tall blond next to her. "She's a freshman this year."

"I'm Adren," Adren grinned. She spat in her hand and shook it out. "Nice to meet another newbie."

"Likewise," Cinderella said back and Adren finally caught the reason for the girl's nickname. With blond hair, blue eyes and a Disney logo on her blue t-shirt, it wasn't a surprise that she was called Cinderella. In a certain light, she looked remarkably like the Disney princess.

"I'm Repeat," Repeat introduced and another handshake was performed. After an awkward silence, Repeat broke it. "Where's your favorite place on campus?" she asked, directing her question to Polaroid.

Polaroid thought for a moment. "Either Vaudeville, the theater, or Jacobs' Apartment. That's the library," she explained in response to the three confused faces in front of her. "I love dancing in the theater, but studying in the library is so peaceful."

"We'll have to go there then," Adren said smiling at Repeat. "Want to come with Cinderella?"

The blond gestured to her bag beside her. "Better not," she replied. "I still need to unpack."

"What dorm are you in?" Repeat asked.

"She's with me in Brooklyn." Polaroid winked. "I'm just going to drop off this roll of film in the Manhattan building for development and then we're going to get settled."

"Alright, we'll see you later then!" Adren waved and then she and Repeat started off again.

* * *

"The Refuge?" Repeat read with distaste. "I don't know if I want to go in there," The two girls were still in The World building, but were standing in front of a wooden door with the words, THE REFUGE, painted on them.

"I wonder what its for?" Adren asked thoughtfully.

"It's the student health center," spoke up a new voice behind them. Both girls whirled to see yet another girl smiling at them. "It's not such a bad place, but no one likes to be sick, so we just call it The Refuge as a joke." Extending her hand the girl smiled again. "My name is Betchya, because I'm always making bets. What's yours?"

Adren was the first to step forward. "Adrenaline, or Adren," she said introducing herself, as Repeat did the same.

"I'm guessing you're both new huh?" Betchya asked, her brownish green eyes grinning. "Don't worry, you'll learn all the campus inside jokes soon enough." Betchya flicked her long brown hair over her shoulder and straightened her very looking preppy jacket.

"Yeah, we're just running all over, trying to figure out where everything is," Repeat told Betchya. "We're roommates in Manhattan."

Betchya nodded. "Cool. I'm in the Brooklyn dorm. Do you want me to show you around?"

Adren and Repeat exchanged glances. "Could you tell us where Jacobs' Apartment is?" Repeat asked timidly. "We promised Polaroid that we'd check it out."

Betchya grinned again. "Sure thing. I'll even lead you there if you like."

"That'd be great," Adren said grinning and the now trio began out the door.

* * *

"A lot of students enjoy going to Jacobs' Apartment because its so peaceful," Betchya said in a quieter tone as they entered the library in the Manhattan Building. Upon walking in, Adren could tell that it was indeed very peaceful. A few groups of students here and there sat at their laptops or quietly talking while curled up on couches.

"Hey Betchya!" a feminine voice called out and the trio turned around. Walking up to them was a girl with curly brown hair and brown eyes. Wearing a t-shirt saying "Singing + Dancing + Acting = Triple Threat" and blue jeans, the girl was obviously a theater buff. She seemed a little heavyset, yet Adren immediately liked the beautiful smile that came from the girl.

Betchya grinned. "Hey Game!" The two girls hugged.

"Haven't seen you since last year; how was your summer?" Betchya asked.

Gamester Cladls - for that was her name - shrugged. "Not bad, but I've been thinking of maybe hosting another Rally in 2010. You think people will be interested?"

"Definitely," Betchya agreed and then led Gamester over to Repeat and Adren. "Gamester Cladls, this is Adren and Repeat."

The girls all spit-shook and exchanged the standard "nice-to-meet-you's" and "what-dorm-are-you" type questions. Adren found out that Game was a junior in the Brooklyn dorm and as predicted by Adren, loved theater. Adren didn't quite understand what was mentioned earlier about a Rally, but she made a resolve to ask one of the seniors later on.

"Well, I better move on," Game said after a few minutes. "I need to go switch some of my classes around at The World building. I'll see y'all later."

"See ya Game!" Betchya waved and then turned to the other girls. "Well, that reminds me that I need to do the same. Do you girls mind if I bail? I also need to check out my schedule."

"Do we need to do that too?" Repeat asked worriedly.

Betchya shrugged. "Eventually, but there are a couple days before classes start. You'll be able to figure out your classes and where you're going by then. But since I'm going to be working at the school store for the first semester, I need to figure out my classes now so I can start work tomorrow."

"How much does working at the store pay?" Repeat asked.

"Depends on your hours," Betchya explained. "But all the money goes toward your dorm or food fee."

"That must be nice," Adren said thoughtfully.

"Yeah it is," Betchya agreed and then checked her watch. "Better get going now. Carrying the banner girls!"

Betchya then strolled off and Repeat and Adren were left standing in the middle of Jacobs' Apartment. "Now what?" Adren asked her new friend.

Repeat shrugged. "I don't know about you, but I think I'm going to go get some coffee or hot chocolate."

"Where?" Adren asked confused.

Repeat pointed across the room where a large set of swinging doors stood, a sign above them saying _Tibby's_. "That must be the cafeteria right?" she asked.

Adren shrugged. "Might as well check it out." The friends began walking over the doors and then slowly pushed them open...

* * *

**A/N:** Oo, suspenseful. ;) As stated in the summary, CC is closed for now, but possibly might be opened later on in the fic. I'm not sure yet however. And this is a halfsie chapter because I really wanted to post, but only had half of the girls show up thus far. So if you didn't show up this chapter, you're going to come in next time. :D

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews so far; you guys are very kind! :D Have a great week and CTB!

-Adren


	5. Exploring part 2

**Exploring part 2**

"Wow," Repeat said, her jaw dropping. Adren's followed in suit. The room was an exact replica of Tibby's, straight out of the movie, complete with tables wide enough for dancing plus a ceiling fan spinning gently.

Adren gazed in wonder at the fan. "I wonder if we can actually spin on it?"

"Maybe we should ask," Repeat asked nervously. "I wouldn't want to get in trouble."

Adren playfully bumped her friend's shoulder. "I wasn't going to do it now silly!" Repeat giggled and bumped back.

"Let's ask her," Repeat suggested pointing to a girl working behind one of the counters. The two girls approached the counter and Adren took in the girl in front of her. Her long brown hair looked almost two feet even in a ponytail and chocolate brown eyes, the girl was muscular. She had on a blue t-shirt with some kind of Latin writing on it along with jeans. She was wiping the counter when the two girls came up to her.

She smiled at them. "Anything I can get you girls? A knockwurst or something?"

Repeat and Adren exchanged a "what-the-heck-is-that?" glance before turning back to the girl. "Uh, no thank you." Adren said awkwardly. "We were just looking at the ceiling fan."

The girl looked across the room at the fan and smiled dreamily. "Yeah, its one of our best pieces on campus. No one can spin on it though; that's an honor only reserved for Bumlets."

Repeat sighed. "Too bad."

"I know," the girl agreed. "It'd be great to be like Bumlets, although I'm more of a Jack or Mush fan myself. I'm Prince by the way."

"I'm Adren and this is Repeat," Adren introduced.

"Nice to meet ya," Prince said spit-shaking with the pair. "I'm guessing you two are new?"

"I'm a freshman-" said Adren.

"And I'm a junior," Repeat explained. "I just transferred this year though."

Prince nodded. "Cool." She checked her watch. "Well, its getting late. I still need to shower before dinner too, so I should start heading back."

"Okay. It was nice meeting you." Prince spit-shook with Repeat.

"Same. I'll see you two around okay?" Prince was just about to walk away when a girl slammed into her.

"Prince!" a girl with cherry tinged brown hair had her arms around Prince before the other girl knew what was happening. "I haven't talked to you in forever!"

Prince pushed the other girl away and then grinned. "Heya Hair!" The two girls hugged again and then split. "Man, it has been a while," Prince said. "What have you been up to?"

Hair whipped out a flyer from her blue jeans. "Campaigning," she said grinning.

"Vote Hair for Biggest Morris Fan, Biggest Blink Fan, and Biggest Jake fan?" Prince read and then rolled her eyes. "The NML awards aren't until November!"

Hair shrugged. "I know, but better start early right?" She giggled. Prince just rolled her eyes again.

Hair then caught sight of Adren and Repeat, who watched the whole exchange. "Who are you guys?" Hair raced over to the two and spit-shook with both. "I'm Hair...cuz I like boys with pretty hair," she giggled and Adren was suddenly reminded of Corky.

Adren introduced the two and Hair grinned. "Great to meet some new newbies, even if you're not a freshman," she said directing her last coment to Repeat.

Adren smiled. Hair seemed very hyper, but Adren liked the girl a lot. Although she wasn't sure what the NML Awards were. She'd have to ask Prince or Stress later.

"Well, now I need to leave," Prince said sighing. "Until classes start, _Tibby's_ is only open for dinner for two hours."

"Isn't it open now?" Adren said. "You were just working there."

"The coffee shop part is open, but not the whole dining center," Prince explained. "The coffee shop is the real _Tibby's_ area; the rest is just modern stuff."

"But we still call it _Tibby's_!" Hair chimed.

"Okay, now I'm leaving; no more delays!" Prince rolled her eyes, but Adren could tell that Prince was kidding. "See ya 'round!"

"Bye!" Repeat called and the two roommates were left standing by Hair, who immediately whipped out two more sheets of paper. "Vote Hair!" she grinned.

Adren read what Prince had said aloud before, only this time she could see colorful lettering and the "NML AWARDS" stamped on the bottom. "So what are the NML Awards?" she asked looking up at Hair.

"They're basically our big celebration awards," Hair explained. "There are tons of categories, like biggest history buff, best fanfic; you know, stuff like that? There's also Biggest Jake Fan, and there's one of those for every newsie."

"So, like, Biggest Jack Fan and Biggest Spot Fan?" Repeat asked tentatively.

Hair nodded. "Yup. And as you can see, I want to win Biggest Jake, Morris, and Blink Fan this year. I won biggest Morris and Jake fan the last three years."

"Whoa!" Adren was impressed.

"There's also an award for the best newbie," Hair continued. "You two could both be nominated for that one." She grinned.

_Or Biggest Itey Fan_, Adren thought dreamily.

"So, I better go accost someone else," Hair said grinning. "Like...that girl over there!" Hair raced over a brown haired girl wearing gray skinny jeans and a red tank top. "Vote Hair!" she cried, handing the girl a flyer and then taking off somewhere else. The other girl looked dazed and Adren and Repeat walked over to the other girl (since she too looked like a freshman).

"You okay?" Adren asked when suddenly, a red blur came flying into _Tibby's_ and plowed into her. Two textbooks fell onto her lap and she grimaced in pain.

"Move it girlie!" a familiar voice snapped and T.A.R.K. rolled off of her.

"What are you doing?" snapped the girl next to Adren. "You could've hurt her!"

"Too bad I didn't newsgirl!" T.A.R.K. returned. He gathered up the books and then nearly dropped them again when Stress and Pegasus rounded the corner.

"T.A.R.K. you get back here right now!" Stress shouted.

"Gimme back my books T.A.R.K.!" Pegasus hollered, hot on Stress's heels.

"Make me!" T.A.R.K. stuck out his tongue, cackled and then began running again, Stress and Peg in hot pursuit. Amazed that T.A.R.K. could run so fast carrying textbooks, Adren stood up, dusting herself off. Now that Peg and Stress had flown past, _Tibby's_ became quiet again.

"You okay?" Repeat asked as she and the other girl steadied Adren.

Adren nodded. "Yeah, just a little dazed."

The other girl laughed nervously. "Is it always this hectic?"

"Hope not," Repeat said quietly.

Adren turned to the other girl. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name. I'm Adren by the way."

"Delia," the other girl said. "My NN is Misfit."

"I'm Repeat," Repeat introduced. "Why the name Misfit?"

Misfit shrugged. "Dunno, I'm just weird sometimes."

Adren studied the girl. Misfit was wearing gray skinny jeans, red high tops, a red tank top and a large button up shirt, looselyl buttoned. Misfit wasn't much taller than Adren and had brown highlights in her blond hair. Although her wasn't clothing wasn't Adren's style, Misfit didn't seem too strange.

"Well, its nice to meet you," Repeat said to break the silence.

"Same here; I'm a freshman and aren't too sure what I'm supposed to be doing." Misfit admitted.

"I'm a freshman too and Repeat just transferred." Adren said. "So we don't know what we're really doing either."

"We're just exploring." Repeat offered. "Wanna come with?"

"Love to, but I still need to get to my dorm," Misfit replied gesturing to her suitcase. "I don't even know where it is yet."

"Which dorm is it?" Adren asked.

"Brooklyn," was the reply.

"We're in Manhattan," Adren said gesturing to Repeat. "But I think Queens and Brooklyn are right next door."

"Thanks," Misfit said gratefully. "I'm sure I'll find it. If not, I'll go back to The World."

"Hope you find it." Repeat said. "We'll see ya later then!"

Misfit waved and then disappeared into Jacob's Aparment.

"Hope she doesn't run into T.A.R.K. again," Repeat joked and the two friends laughed.

"I just thought of something," Adren said thoughtfully.

"Hmm?" Repeat asked.

"Well, where are the Bronx and Long Island dorms?" Adren wondered. "Queens and Brooklyn are next to us, where are the other dorms? I haven't seen the Bronx or Long Island dorms at all."

"Hmm," Repeat thought. "Now that you mention it, I haven't either."

"Strange," Adren frowned. "Do you think they don't have them?"

"No, we don't." A new voice said and Adren and Repeat whipped around to see a tall girl standing near them. She smiled. "Sorry to barge into your conversation; I couldn't help but overhear."

Adren smiled. "It's okay. Now what were you saying about the dorms?"

The other girl nodded. "Yeah, we don't have dorms for the Bronx or Long Island. We were going to, but there wasn't enough money to get more dorms. That's one of the reasons for the test to get in."

"I thought that was just to scare you," Repeat said sheepishly.

Their new acquaintance grinned. "That's what it feels like doesn't it?" She stuck out her hand, pushing her dark brown hair away from her eyes with the other hand. "My name is Laelyn."

"Repeat, and this is my roomie Adren." Repeat introduced.

"So is Laelyn your real name or NN?" Adren asked.

"Real name," Laelyn replied. "I sometimes go by Fifth Avenue, but I like just being called Laelyn."

"And I thought going by real names was against the law around here," Adren joked.

Laelyn laughed. "It can seem like that sometimes, but it isn't. Newsie Names are just a fun addition to the school. But speaking of real names, what are yours anyways?"

"I'm Addie," Adren said.

"And I'm Sarah," Repeat finished. She looked at Adren. "Man, it already feels weird saying that."

"Just wait till the end of the year," Laelyn grinned mischievously. "You'll get home and won't answer to your real name anymore!"

The girls laughed. "Does that happen a lot?" Repeat asked wide-eyed.

Laelyn shrugged. "It can, but its never really happened to me." She looked at the two younger girls. "Where you gals off to anyway?"

Repeat and Adren looked at each other. "We should probably head back to the dorm," Repeat said reluctantly. "We've been exploring for the last few hours but, I don't know about you Adren, but I'm famished."

Adren nodded. "Me too. But how do we pay for our dinner? Don't you need your ID card?"

"No, there's a special card for food alone. It should be waiting at your dorm," Laelyn explained. "Which one are you two in?"

"Manhattan," was the reply.

Laelyn's face lit up. "I'm in Manhattan too!" She grinned. "That'll make things easier. Follow me then."

The trio set out.

---

As the three girls headed back to the Manhattan dorm, Adren found out a little more about Laelyn and was also able to see what her new companion actually looked like. Laelyn had short dark brown hair and dark eye makeup surrounding her blue eyes. She was wearing simple jeans and a red and black rock band t-shirt. Though a tomboy, Laelyn seemed the type to enjoy a good romance. She loved drawing and seemed to like writing as well.

"Have you guys gone this way yet?" Laelyn asked as she led them down a small slope once out of the building.

"No, why?" Repeat asked, trailing after Adren.

"Because this is my favorite part of the campus," Laelyn said grinning as the trio reached a small footbridge across a tiny creek. Two other girls were already standing on the bridge, talking and laughing. Standing in the middle of the bridge, she spread out her arms. "Welcome to the Brooklyn Bridge!"

Adren and Repeat laughed as the two other girls on the bridge turned around at the sound of Laelyn's voice. "Hey Laelyn!" the first one greeted. She had shoulder length blond hair and what looked to be a theater t-shirt before she hugged the senior in front of her.

Laelyn hugged her back. "Good to see you again Melody! What's up BG?" Her second comment was directed at the girl behind Melody, with a type of dirty blond hair, wearing a preppy shirt and jeans.

"Pretty good Laelyn, thanks." BG answered.

"BG, Mel, this is Adren and Repeat," Laelyn introduced. "Melody is a sophomore and BG is a junior."

After the initial hello's were exchanged, Adren asked of BG; "what does BG stand for?"

"Bugle girl," BG answered smiling shyly. "I love to play trumpet."

"We're both music lovers," Melody said. "I'm crazy about the piano though."

Adren grinned. "Nice. I play trombone so I know what you mean," she said to BG.

BG held up a hand. "High five then! Go brass!"

Adren slapped hands with her.

"Well, sorry ladies," Laelyn said warmly. "but we need to run into 'Hattan dorm before we go to dinner."

Melody turned to BG. "That's what we were doing before we stopped at the bridge," she giggled. "But we had to yell off it you know."

"And play Pooh Sticks!" BG added, blushing a little. "It's a classic."

"Well, we still gotta do the ritual too," Laelyn said, her blue eyes twinkling. "Ready girls?"

Adren grinned and almost wiggled with excitement. The three of them leaned over the edge of the bridge and hollered with all their might.

"I've always wanted to do that!" Repeat squealed after coming up.

"Me too!" Adren agreed just as excited.

Laelyn laughed. "Come on girls; lets grab our stuff and eat! I'm famished!" She took off in a run towards the in-sight dorm buildings.

"See ya at _Tibby's_!" Melody called as she and BG turned the other way and began walking.

"Nice meeting you!" Adren puffed, trying to keep up with Laelyn's run. As her athletic build had suggested, the senior girl was fast. Adren couldn't help but think about what was happening to her besides trying to keep up with Laelyn's stride. Adren couldn't keep the smile off her face and it looked like Repeat couldn't either. Adren grinned at her new roommate before putting on another burst of speed. A warm glow spread through her and she and Repeat pulled up to a waiting Laelyn by the door. It seemed as though Adren finally found where she belonged.

* * *

**A/N: **My apologies for the lateness of the chapter; the show I was just in sapped all my free time. Oh well, the chappie was long anyway. :P Okay, this is basically the entire cast list now. Everyone who is in the fic has shown up at least once by now, though I apologize to those who only started showing up this chapter. :( It's kinda hard with such a large cast. Oh well. I hope you enjoyed this anyway. :)

Thanks for reading and until next time!

-Adren

P.S. BG and Mel, have you ever played Pooh Sticks? Its great. ;)


	6. Dinner

_Three weeks since an update? I know, I'm ashamed too. :( Hopefully you guys will like this chapter and decide not to hurt me. *holds out Itey!muse* I BLAME HIM!!!! ;) Just kidding. I love my Itey!muse; he gives me very nice hugs...and plot bunnies. Ha ha. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Dinner  
**

When the three girls walked inside of the dorm, it was quiet. Braids were no longer stationed at the white table, though Corky still was. However, she was slumbering on the desk.

Laelyn grinned mischievously and tapped Corky on the shoulder. "Wake up Corkster!" she cried in a singsong voice.

Corky raised her head and blinked sleepily. "Uh huh," she mumbled and her head drooped again.

"Come on Corky," Adren said tugging at Corky's shoulder.

Corky yawned. "What time is it?"

Laelyn checked her watch. "About six thirty."

Corky jumped up with a new surge of energy. "Aw man, the dining center will close in a half hour!" She pushed her flannel sleeves back up and pushed in her chair. "Better cheese it," she cried. "Later!" With that, Corky flew out the door.

Laelyn laughed. "Come on, we should probably grab our stuff and get going too." The three girls headed to their dorm rooms and quickly grabbed a pullover or a purse.

"You guys go ahead," Adren said suddenly. "I think I want to write an email to my folks first, to let them know I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" Repeat asked.

Adren nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, here;" Laelyn pulled out a piece of scrap paper and scribbled something on it quickly. "Call me if you can't find your way around."

Adren looked at the phone number and nodded again. "Okay."

"I'll have to give you mine at dinner so don't forget to remind me okay?" Repeat called as she and Laelyn began walking out the door.

"Okay!" Adren called back and then sat on her swivel chair, taking in a deep breath. After just running around for the last few hours, she felt mentally and physically tired. Yet, before eating, she wanted to write home and unload her thoughts a little. Besides, although the food part of the dining center (or _Tibby's_) closed at seven, the actual cafeteria room was open for much longer. Adren figured she had time and she knew it wasn't a typical thing. Dinner hours were much longer once school started.

Pulling her laptop out of its carrier case, she turned it on and pulled up her email. Placing her hands on the keyboard, Adren took a deep breath and thought back to everything that had happened that day.

_Dear Mom and Dad,_

_What a day! Just when you think you can handle anything people can throw at you, something new comes up. Rest assured, nothing has gone wrong and I'm doing fine. In fact, I've already made several friends and my roommate is very nice. However, this isn't your average school, so obviously, some things are more interesting. Like, I didn't think this was an actual ritual, but we do all go by our NN (newsie nicknames) here! So basically, everyone knows me as Adren—haven't been called Addie all day. But that's alright. One thing that has really surprised me though (besides a huge replica of The World building) is that there is virtually no class rivalry here whatsoever! In middle school, it seemed like everyone would always have a pecking order, but its not true here. In fact, it's a bit hard to distinguish a sophomore from a senior! Everyone is so helpful and nice… _

_I've gotten to explore with my roommate Repeat (Sarah) today and it's been a blast! We visited The World building, the Manhattan Building (where all the classes are), and stopped in _Tibby's_ (the cafeteria). I'm going to go there as soon as I finish my email and catch up with Repeat and Laelyn (the only girl I've met so far without going by her NN). I hear there is a school store; I can't wait to visit it! _

_Well, I'd love to tell you more, but I've got to run. I just wanted to let you know that I'm doing well and have already unpacked a lot of stuff. I'll call you tonight okay? _

_Love,_

_Addie_

Adren put her laptop to sleep and glanced at the clock. Only thirteen minutes left! Grabbing her purse, Adren flew out the dorm room and quickly was out of the building.

"Hey Adren, wait up!" Turning around, Adren saw Polaroid and Cinderella running towards her from the Brooklyn dorm.

"We're running to dinner; come with us," Cinderella said grinning, her blue eyes sparkling.

"Great," Adren said happily. "I don't really know the way anyhow."

"We'd better hurry," Polaroid said grabbing Adren's hand and tugging it while she grabbed Cinderella's as well. And for the second time that day, Adren began to run.

* * *

"So where are the other girls?" Adren asked confused as she stood in the doorway of the cafeteria. She, Polaroid, and Cinderella had gotten some food from the modern part of _Tibby's_ and Adren couldn't wait to dig into her hotdog, (naturally modeled after the one Les ate in the movie at the real _Tibby's_).

"There's Repeat," Cinderella said, balancing her tray in her right hand and pointing with her left.

"Laelyn, Stress, and Peg are with them too," Polaroid said happily. "Let's go join them."

The trio of girls quickly came over to the table and sat down, Adren between Laelyn and Polaroid.

"Got your books back I see," Adren laughed as she saw Pegasus clinging tightly to two textbooks in front of her. Adren noticed she didn't have any dinner with her.

Peg nodded vigorously. "That troublemaker isn't getting my books again," she said stubbornly.

Laelyn laughed and winked at Stress. "Isn't it your duty to keep T.A.R.K. out of trouble?" she asked slyly.

Stress rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and Peg's not letting me forget it."

"You slacked off on your duties," Pegasus said indignantly which made the other girls giggle. Pegasus huffed, but looked slightly amused anyhow. "I'm going to go get some dinner," she said tucking her textbooks under her arm and getting up from her chair.

"Have fun with that," Laelyn said dryly.

"Oh, I will," Pegasus held her head high trying to look dignified and began heading towards the main part of _Tibby's_ again…before she tripped over her feet and stumbled.

Stress rolled her eyes and also got up. "I'd better make sure she doesn't accidentally fall down a flight of stairs and break her neck," she said smirking.

"There aren't any stairs though," Cinderella pointed out.

"Peg would fall anyway and break something anyway," Laelyn joked and that got a laugh out of the girls.

Stress disappeared into _Tibby's_ as the girls began eating.

"Yo yo yo!" Adren turned to see Corky sitting with Prince, Game, and Hair, waving from the other side of _Tibby's_. Adren waved back and then spotted Braids and Betchya sitting together in deep conversation. Adren grinned, happy that she could recognize some faces.

"Oh yeah, we were supposed to exchange phone numbers," Repeat said suddenly, digging out her phone. "Can I have all of your guys'?"

"Sure," Adren said and began pulling out her cell phone like everyone else.

"Okay, I still have Polaroid's from last year," Laelyn said looking up at Polaroid. "Has it changed?"

"Nope," Polaroid said not looking up. She was placing Cinderella's number into her own phone while Repeat looked over her shoulder.

"What's yours Addie?" Laelyn asked nonchalantly while texting.

Adren gave it to Laelyn and then stopped. "You called me Addie," she said incredulously.

Laelyn looked up. "I did?" she looked surprised and then sheepish. "Oops, sorry."

Adren laughed. "It's okay."

"Okay, we're back," Stress said sitting down at the table, now holding onto Pegasus's books.

"What took you so long?" Laelyn asked, although the way her blue eyes were sparkling, it implied she already knew.

Stress groaned. "It took Peg eleven times walking around the cafeteria to figure out she wanted a turkey sandwich, which was the original thing she saw."

"Actually, it was only ten times walking," Peg corrected biting into her sandwich.

Stress rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Adren laughed again. It was definitely a merry party that ate dinner that night. Adren couldn't wait to spend more time with the girls she had met.


	7. The School Store

_I've been busy....that's my only excuse. :( Hope you like the chapter anyways; I enjoyed writing it and I've been looking forward to it for a while now. :) R&R please!  
_

* * *

**Ch.**** 7: The School Store**

Adren pushed back her chair and groaned. "I'm stuffed."

"Tell me about it," Repeat sighed. "boy is it difficult to stop eating here!"

"One of the best food places in the world," Pegasus said proudly.

Polaroid giggled. "The 'World'."

Everyone looked at her.

Polaroid had a sheepish look on her face. "You know, like the World? Pulitzer's place?"

Pegasus had a mock frown on her face. "Yeah sure." She stuck her nose in the air and scrunched her eyebrows in her best Pulitzer imitation. "Now where was I?"

"Creating the World chief," Stress answered, deadpan. The group erupted in laughter.

Repeat, Cinderella, and Adren looked at each other. It was obvious that none of the girls had been in an environment where everyone quoted _Newsies _on a regular basis, although it was also apparent that each of the newbies liked it.

"Hey chickas!" Corky and Hair ran up to the table. "We're going to the school store; anyone wanna come?"

Adren grinned. "I would!" During dinner, there had been several mentions of the infamous school store and Adren had gotten more and more excited to see it.

"It's the coolest thing ever," Hair told Adren. "Seriously, its amazing."

Nearly being dragged across the lunch room, Adren struggled to keep up with Hair and Corky's fast pace. Flying down the staircase, the three girls hurried through the hallways.

"Why are we going so fast?" Adren puffed.

"Don't ask why!" Hair giggled.

"Ask why not?" Corky finished. The two girls laughed.

Adren frowned. She was thinking more along the lines of "because the store closes soon" but if all the girls wanted to run, fine. Adren was typically a sprinter, but was definitely out of shape which was obvious by the way she was wheezing.

"Here we are!" Hair beamed as the three girls stopped in front of some grand doors with a flashing neon sign on the top, clearly stating "The School Store"

Adren had just begun to gawk at the sign when Corky snagged her arm again. "You'll love it," she said confidently.

Hair grinned mischievously and then dramatically pushed open the doors. As soon as Adren was inside, she knew that she was in a type of paradise.

A piano rendition of "Santa Fe" played softly in the background as gentle lights glowing, filled the room. Various apparel racks were scattered all over the room—sweatshirts, t-shirts, caps. A large set of water bottles with the school's logo on them took up one corner of the room and the wall next to it was full of school supplies; pens, notebooks, post-its, and folders. Large posters were in the back along with cardboard cut-outs, identical to the large Kloppman one in the Manhattan dorm. A rack of movies that starred _Newsies_ actors were near the cash register, along with DVDs of both the original movie and _Blood Drips Heavily on Newsies Square_. As Hair explained to Adren later, these copies were just in case someone's got scratched, with happened pretty frequently. Beside the movie rack, a bookshelf stood proudly against the wall next to it. A huge selection of books sat on its shelves, ranging from the movie scripts (including BDHONS) to guides to writing fanfictions.

Adren just stood in the doorway, drinking it all in.

Corky nudged Hair. "Told ya she'd love it."

Hair rolled her eyes at Corky's smug smile. "Honestly, have we ever found someone who hasn't?"

The two girls began to playfully bicker, but Adren didn't notice. She began to walk slowly around the room in complete awe of the entire display. Being the bookworm that she was, Adren was drawn to the bookshelf first. Lovingly, she ran her fingers along the spines of the books and then noticed that nearly one half of bookshelf were books of fanfiction.

Puzzled, Adren picked up one of the books and flipped through it. Yup, it was definitely a fanfiction.

"Hey Corky!" Adren called.

Corky looked up from giggling with another girl—Adren noticed Corky and Hair were no longer with one another—and then Corky trotted over to where Adren was standing. "What up?" the junior asked.

Adren showed the book she was holding to the other girl. "How does the store have fanfiction?"

Corky gave Adren an odd look. "Um…they publish them?" she said, as if it was a completely normal thing to do.

Adren rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah, but how do you get the fanfiction? Who writes them?"

"Oh that!" Corky laughed. "It's pretty simple. All the authors are girls from the NMLA. What we do, is every year, we nominate and vote on the best fics in a big contest, the NML Fanfic Awards. I think Stress has hosted the last few years. Anyway, if you win those awards, you get bragging rights and an chance to get your fic published. We vote on the best of the best and the top five winners are published." Corky beamed. "Cool huh?"

Adren grinned. "Yeah. What do you do about the one shots though? You can't really individually publish each of those can you?"

Corky shook her head vigorously. "No, you can't." She reached over and pulled out another fat book off the shelf. "The one shot winners of the original awards are all put into one book."

Adren looked at the book in Corky's hand. _The Best of 2000_ was the title and the cover was colorfully decorated. Adren flipped through the book and skimmed over the one shots. Some of them looked very good.

"2000 was a big year for the NMLA," Corky said fondly. "So that's our fattest one shot book, except for maybe '99."

"You know a lot about this stuff don't you?" Adren said, smiling up at her new friend.

"That's cuz she's a crazy fangirl," Gamester Cladls said, coming up behind Corky.

Corky beamed and then ducked away. "Better get back to Kiddah," she said sheepishly. "We were outlining our joint-fic." She sidled up to Adren. "Vote for _Catching Up_ when the awards roll around okay?" Corky whispered in the freshman's ear and then winked. Waving to Gamester and Adren, Corky happily skipped over to another portion of the store to where Kiddah was waiting.

Game smiled at Adren, as if she already knew the reason for Corky's whisper.

"Have you ever won any awards?" Aden asked grinning.

Game shook her head. "Nah, I don't write enough. But I hear it's a lot of fun."

"I'll bet." Adren said staring dreamily at the bookshelf. _It'd be so neat to win one of those awards, _she thought dreamily.

Suddenly, another book caught her eye. Leaning over to the shelf, Adren picked up the book.

_In Loving Memory of Curls: a book of one shot tributes_

Frowning in confusion, Adren turned to Game. "What's this?" she asked holding out the book. "Who's Curls?"

Game's cheerful face sobered. She took the book from Adren and gently ran her finger along the cover. "Curls was a student at the NMLA," she said finally. "She was killed by a drunk driver during her sophomore year."

Adren's eyes went wide and she took an instinctive step backwards. "Dead?" she whispered.

Game nodded. "She was fifteen years old."

"When did it happen?" Adren asked softly, breaking the long pause.

"Back in '99," Game said. "I wasn't even around. But every January 11th, we have the day off to remember her, so everyone knows the story."

Adren nodded and then taking the book back from Game, she set it gently back on the shelf.

Game nodded to the book. "It has some good stories in it. You should read it sometime."

"So, it's just a collection of one shots about Curls?" Adren asked.

Game nodded. "Or just in memory of her." Motioning to the book on the shelf, Game said; "it was actually republished last year, which hasn't happened for a while. One of the girls, Brockie, wrote another one shot in honor of Curls and we had to add it."

"Oh," was all that Adren could think of to say. The idea of a fellow newsgirl dying had never entered her mind and it shocked her. Adren bit her lip.

Game noticed Adren's unease and put an arm around her. "Don't dwell on it too long," she advised gently. "It's a hard subject."

Adren nodded. "I think I'll look at the sweatshirts now," she said quietly.

Hair came running up to Adren. "Hey girl, nice to see ya again!" she greeted. Then seeing Adren and Game's misty eyes, she stopped. "What's wrong?" she asked concerned.

"We were talking about Curls," Game said simply.

Hair's bright grin dimmed. "Heavy subject," she said sadly.

"Yeah," Game agreed.

Hair hugged the two girls. "Come on girls; don't think about that right now. We all bawl enough on Curls' memorial day in January."

Game chuckled. "That's true."

Adren began to smile a little.

Hair grinned. "Keep carrying the banner."

This time Adren really smiled. Being told to carry the banner was something she had never been told by a friend. It gave her a warm feeling inside that made her forget a little about the sorrow about Curls.

Hair linked her arm with Adren. "Come on, I'll show you the sweatshirts," she said excitedly.

Going over to one if the clothing racks, Hair pulled out a green sweatshirt. In gold lettering, it spelled the NMLA on the front. "I love this one," Hair said. "They have all of these types of sweatshirts in different colors, and you can get your NN embroidered on the hood!"

"Really?" Adren asked interested. She eyed a royal blue one on the rack.

"You should get one," Hair said, reading Adren's mind. "Nearly everyone on campus has some sort of one and they're a lot of fun."

"I'll definitely get one," Adren said happily hugging the blue sweatshirt.

"Great," Hair said grinning. "Come on, I'll show you the posters."

Adren hurried behind her friend and as they got closer, she stopped and gawked. Poster upon poster greeted her eyes. There were posters of 1899 New York, and the modern NYC. There were posters of every character in the movie, even including the no-names, such as Snaps and Tumbler. Adren began to drool when she saw a poster of Itey in all of his newsboy glory.

"Eek!" Corky was suddenly behind Adren and the freshman jumped. "They've got a new poster of Dutchy!" Corky squealed and ran over to the poster, rubbing her face against it lovingly.

Hair snickered. "In case you didn't notice, Dutchy is Corkster's favorite."

Corky looked lovingly at the poster. "He's my DutchDutch."

Adren giggled.

"The school store will be closing in ten minutes," a voice said. Adren looked up over to the register, a girl was speaking into the microphone.

"Better go order that sweatshirt before the store closes," Hair advised.

Adren checked her cell phone. "I can't believe it's already 9:20," she exclaimed.

"Believe it," Hair teased.

Looking longingly at the Itey poster, Adren decided not to buy it at the moment. Since she wasn't sure how Repeat wanted to the room set up poster-wise, she decided to only stick with the sweatshirt. _Besides_, she reasoned, _there's a couple of Itey posters but I'll want one of Snitch and Skittery too. _Although Adren knew that she'd probably get all of them once she got the chance, she wanted to check with Repeat first.

After purchasing the sweatshirt and receiving a promise for the NN to be embroidered in a few days, Adren set out from the store with Hair and Corky. After walking around the campus a little bit, Adren and Corky then bid farewell to Hair at Queens dorm and then walked into Manhattan.

Adren yawned. "I'm tired."

Corky looked at her like she was insane. "But it's only ten o'clock or so!" she gasped. "It's so _early_!"

"I'm an early bird," Adren said apologetically.

Corky giggled. "Not me; I never get to sleep before midnight!"

Adren shrugged. "Oh well." Then changing the subject she said, "that school store was so cool."

"Yeah," Corky agreed dreamily, hugging her new Dutchy poster. "All we need now are clones, and then we're set."

Adren giggled. "Clones?"

Corky looked slightly sheepish but grinned too. "Wouldn't that be cool though?"

Adren rolled her eyes.

"I was wondering when you two would be coming back," Braids said from her position on the couch.

Adren and Corky jumped. Braids laughed at their shock. "Didn't know I was here did you?" she asked, grinning.

Corky wagged her finger at the senior. "Sneaky!"

"Hey guys!" Repeat cried, bursting into the dorm.

"Where have you been?" Corky asked.

"The band room with Melody and BG," Repeat replied, her eyes shining. "It's so cool in there! There are so many practice rooms and they have sheet music to every song from _Newsies_!"

"Seriously?" Adren asked, her eyes wide.

"Well what would you expect?" Corky asked surprised. "It is a _Newsies_ school."

Repeat stopped gushing and then nodded. "Guess so. But it's still really cool," she insisted.

Adren smiled at her roommate. "You'll have to show me tomorrow." Then Adren told Repeat about the school store and all of the posters.

"Sounds neat!" Repeat exclaimed. "Now you'll have to also show me something tomorrow." The two roommates smiled at the other.

"Who wants popcorn?" Laelyn bellowed as she came into the main room. In one hand was a large bowl, filled to the brim with microwave popcorn.

"Yum!" Corky cried immediately grabbing a handful.

"Where'd you get it?" Repeat asked with wide eyes.

"I brought my microwave," Laelyn said smugly.

"You're the best," Corky said taking another handful as Braids came up to join her. Adren's mouth watered. She loved microwave popcorn.

Braids grinned slyly. "I know you Laelyn; you want to watch something don't you?"

Laelyn grinned and yanked out a DVD from behind her. "I figure we should kick off the school year right." In her hand was a DVD of _Blood Drips Heavily on Newsies Square_.

All the girls squealed as Laelyn slid it into the DVD player in the main room. "The nice thing about this version is that the worst of the cussing is muted out." Laelyn explained as she switched on the TV.

"Seriously?" Adren asked, delighted. It was the only thing she didn't like about the spoof—the excessive cursing.

Laelyn nodded. "They sell them at the store. Since some of the girls get offended by the language, the school offers copies without the bad stuff in it."

"Besides," Braids put in. "It is a _Disney_ place."

"Good point," Adren said and curled up on one of the couches, waiting for the movie to start. Already, she felt very at home with these girls. A family atmosphere surrounded the entire school and it already felt like a second home.

As she drifted off to sleep later on, she could only think, _who knew a movie about newsboys could do so much?_


	8. Band Room

**Ch. 8: Band Room**

"Oh it's a fine life! Carrying the banner through it all!"

Adren startled in her sleep and then sat up suddenly, nearly hitting her head on the ceiling. _Where am I?_ she thought sleepily as "Carrying the Banner" blasted throughout the room. Suddenly she remembered the day before and that she was at the school of her dreams, the NML Academy.

The excitement of that realization jerked her out of her sleepiness and she scrambled down the ladder off the top bunk. Her roommate Repeat still lay in bed, her hair sprawled all over her pillow. Adren was suddenly seized by a fit of the giggles as her excitement grew. It was her second day at the NMLA! Who knew what fun awaited her?

Giggling at the cheesy thought, she grabbed her pillow off the top bunk and suddenly whacked Repeat with it. "Rise and shine sleepy-head!" she sang out.

Repeat bolted upright, eyes wide. "Wha-?"

"OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING! OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY!" Adren began to belt the song from _Oklahoma! _too happy to care that she was acting slightly rude.

"NO SINGING ANY SONG NOT FROM NEWSIES!" barked Laelyn as she poked her head in the doorway. Adren immediately stopped and blushed.

Laelyn grinned. "I'm teasing silly girl!" the senior winked and then strode off to the shower room (each floor had one), whistling a song from _Hairspray_.

"I never wake up until "King of New York"," Repeat said sleepily, as she collapsed back onto her back, shutting her eyes.

"Well, that was at home, this is at the NMLA!" Adren said feeling very peppy. "Besides, you gotta get up so that you can show me the band room.

Repeat's eyes shot open and she bounced out of bed. "Let's go!" she cried grabbing Adren's hand and pulling her out of the room.

"Uh, Repeat?" Adren said, trying to brace herself against the floor to avoid being completely dragged.

Braids poked her head from around her door and blinked sleepily at the two younger girls. "You two do realize that you're both in your pajamas right?"

Repeat stopped dead in her tracks. "Oops," she said sheepishly, her shyness kicking back in.

Adren laughed. "C'mon, let's get dressed and then hurry over."

"I don't see what your hurry is," Braids said yawning. "You have until orientation at noon and it's just after eight thirty."

"Thus, its waaay too early," a new voice came in crankily. Corky stuck her head out of her dorm room and made a face.

"Never mind Corky," Braids reassured the girls, rolling her eyes. "She's not a morning person."

"I gathered that," said Adren laughing a little. Judging by Corky's crankiness and by the fact that she stayed up past two in the morning, Adren wasn't surprised.

"Anyway," Braids continued. "you have till noon. Then we're all meeting at the Vaudeville Theatre for orientation. Why don't you guys go get something to eat at Tibby's, and then go to Vaudeville. Since orientation is there, you can spend more time there."

"Is that where the practice rooms are?" Adren asked her roommate.

Repeat nodded, her eyes shining. "They're super cool!"

"Ahh," Braids said sighing dreamily. "It's nice having fellow band geeks."

"Do you want to come with?" Adren asked eagerly.

Braids shook her head. "Thanks, but I can't. Why don't you text BG or Polaroid though? I'm sure they'd love to come with."

"Good idea!" Adren cried happily.

"I've got Polaroid's number, but I don't have BG's," Repeat said as she headed back into her and Adren's dorm room to grab her phone.

"Melody would probably want to come too," Laelyn remarked as she strolled past, her hair wet from her recent shower.

"I don't have her number either," Repeat said coming out of her room.

"Well, Polaroid might. Anyway, she and BG are roomies and BG and Mel are pals. So, no sweat." Braids said, shrugging.

"Sending her a text now," Repeat said her thumbs tapping the small buttons on her phone. " 'wanna go 2 the band room w/ adren & me? bring b.g. and mel' ". She looked up and grinned. "Now let's get dressed while we wait for her response."

(lalalala)

"It's too bad Melody couldn't come." Repeat remarked as she, Adren, Polaroid, and BG walked to Vaudeville.

BG shrugged. "I think she preferred to sleep in." BG made a face. "Crazy girl!"

"Well, she's not a band nut," Polaroid said sticking her nose in the air, pretending to act hoity toity. "We are superior when you think about it."

Adren laughed. "Band pride; gotta love it."

Polaroid winked. "Exactly."

In response to the brief silence that followed, Adren said dreamily; "I can't wait to get my hands on that music. I've been dying to play "King of New York" on my trombone forever!"

"I know!" BG agreed excitedly. "I sometimes try to play them by ear, but never can."

"Playing by ear is hard," sympathized Repeat.

"Tell me about it," groaned Adren.

"What's worse is memorizing," Polaroid said grimacing. "I mean, it's nice when you have a song nailed so you can play it forever, but when you first memorize it's so hard!"

"Here we are!" BG cried as the group reached the Vaudeville building.

"So, do they have a sort of Medda tribute here too?" Repeat asked as they began to enter the building.

"See for yourself!" BG said excitedly. Repeat and Adren gasped as they walked into the lobby. Above the doors into the auditorium was an exact replica of the theater in the movie, complete with a large picture of Medda.

"Miss Medda Larkson, the Swedish Meadowlark!" BG announced in a combination of Jack Kelly's New York accent and the deep announcer voice one would expect to hear on T.V.

The other three girls burst out laughing as BG grinned. Polaroid pushed open the doors into the auditorium. "Welcome to Vaudeville goils!"

At first, there wasn't a lot to see in the dark theater. The stage was bare and the heavy red curtain was pulled to the side. A few hundred seats sat silently in their places.

"It's sort of empty now," Polaroid explained "but every year we do a spring and fall musical and then things get bustling. Also, every winter we have a concert where the choir and the band each perform a few pieces."

"All from _Newsies_ right?" Adren asked winking.

Polaroid grinned. "Each group does some sort of _Newsies_ tribute, but they expand a little bit too. There are only so many songs you know."

"It's really cool though," BG said excitedly. "Last year the band did "Santa Fe"; it sounded so good!"

"Thanks to a certain solo trumpet player," Polaroid said grinning at her friend. BG blushed.

"You got the trumpet solo?" Adren asked eagerly.

BG nodded, suddenly shy. "Yeah, the know the one at the reprise of "Santa Fe" in "CTB; reprise"? That was worked into our version of "Santa Fe", since obviously," she giggled. "we didn't have Christian Bale singing."

"If only," Repeat said, her eyes glazing over in dreamy delight. Adren took her friend's arm to propel her gently out of the theater. Repeat snapped out of it quickly and looked embarrassed. "Sorry."

The other girls laughed and Adren decided she would probably have to get used to seeing everyone do that on a regular basis—herself included!

(lalala)

"So here are our band and choir rooms," Polaroid explained as they passed several doors. Repeat and Adren peeked in. The rooms weren't very big but both had several risers built into the floor. The choir room was smaller, due to the fact not as much room was needed for instruments. The band room was full of music stands.

"I'm getting really excited now for band," Adren whispered in Repeat's ear.

Her roommate grinned. "Me too!"

BG ran ahead into one of the smaller rooms. "This is where we keep all the music," she said, gesturing to the mountain of file cabinets around her. She opened one of the drawers, marked Trombone. "Come and see!" she beckoned to Adren.

Adren looked into the drawer. Several folders each with a marked tab greeted her eyes. Each folder contained the music to a song from _Newsies_ with different parts. (Ex: 1st, 2nd, 3rd trombone)

"The miscellaneous music for the entire band is kept by our director" BG explained. "But he'll usually let you borrow it. It's just not open to anybody."

"I see," Adren said, not really past the fact of being able to have the sheet music for _Newsies_ at her fingertips. It staggered the imagination.

"That is so cool!" Repeat squealed.

"We even have beginning, intermediate, and advanced versions of every sheet of music since some girls actually take up an instrument while they're here," BG explained proudly.

"It's the appeal of being able to play _Newsies_ on an instrument; who wouldn't want to take up music?" Polaroid winked.

"That's so amazing," Adren looked up to grin at BG before pawing through the folders again. She finally found an intermediate, 1st trombone version of "King of New York". Her hands trembled in anticipation. "When can we start?"

BG laughed. "If your instrument is here: now!"

Adren's face fell. "I had it shipped here. I'm not sure if it arrived yet."

"Let's check," Polaroid suggested. "We can open the instrument room."

"This part is really cool," Repeat whispered to Adren. "The key is their ID cards!"

"It helps with security," Polaroid explained "but allows students to get their instruments whenever they want, instead of having to ask teachers for a key all the time."

"That was a problem a few years ago," BG told the girls. "Everyone would be practicing at all times during the day and the teachers just go sick of having to lock and unlock the doors. So they switched everything to ID"

"Well, who doesn't like practicing at weird times?" Repeat teased. "I've played in the morning before or late at night and it's a lot of fun!"

"Exactly," Polaroid agreed. "Maybe the four of us should have a late night practice session sometime." She winked as she opened the door.

Before she went in, a thought hit Adren. "Hey!" she cried. "How come you have your ID card already? We took the pictures yesterday!"

"You did," Polariod said. "But I didn't. I was here a few days early because I'm doing most of the chief photography this year."

"Oh," Adren said as they went into the instrument room. It was small, about the size of a practice room but instruments lined the shelves and lay sprawled everywhere.

"There's mine!" Repeat cried as she spotted her tenor saxophone.

"And mine too!" squealed Adren as she saw the signature black and green bracelet dangling from the trombone's handle. She picked up her instrument case and stroked it lovingly.

At the same time, BG picked up her trumpet and Polaroid took out her flute. "You'll get a folder when the music class starts," BG explained as she took out her own music folder. "Until then, you'll just have to pick and choose your sheet music and put it back when you're done."

"So don't write on it," Polaroid teased.

Adren smiled. "I won't."

Repeat checked her watch. "Orientation is at noon right?"

"Yup," BG replied.

"Well, it's only nine thirty or so," Repeat said. "We have tons of time."

"Don't forget, we will want to grab some breakfast too, eventually." Polaroid reminded them.

"Yeah, yeah," BG shrugged. "But practicing is more important right now."

"You just want to play "Santa Fe" again," Polaroid teased. "I'm surprised you haven't memorized it yet."

"I'm working on it," BG said with dignity and strode into a practice room. Moments later, "Santa Fe" began floating through the door.

Adren got more excited. She quickly selected a practice room, went in, and shut the door behind her. She placed her music on the stand that was provided in the otherwise empty room (besides a chair). Taking out her instrument, she didn't even bother to warm up. She put it to her lips and began sight-reading K.O.N.Y.

During a measure rest a few lines later, she sighed dreamily. This was paradise.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about that Mel. ;D And deepest apologies for the extreme lateness of this chapter. 'Twas my favorite to write though. :D

CTB!

-Adren


	9. Breakfast

A/N: About time, I know. I'm trying to pump out another chapter though before November. (This is going to be my "warm up" for NaNoWriMo.) Hopefully, that'll happen. We'll see. In the meantime, enjoy this latest chapter and please review!

* * *

**Ch. 9: Breakfast**

Adren lowered her trombone and gently massaged her upper lip. It was swollen and her high notes were beginning to sound squeaky. She poked her head outside of the small practice room that she was in and looked around. Music was coming from three other practice rooms around her.

Their lips must be better shape than mine, Adren thought ruefully. Pulling out a tube of Burt's Bees chapstick, Adren applied some to her lips and then put away her trombone. She then knocked on Repeat's door. Her roommate showed up, tenor sax in hand, looking very frustrated.

"My lips hurt sooo bad!" she exclaimed, her lips looking redder than usual.

"Me too," Adren said smiling. "I'll bet there's a big red semi-circle above my lip right?"

Repeat looked and giggled. "Yup, and your lips are puffy."

Adren rubbed her lips together and groaned. "That's what happens when you don't practice for a few weeks."

Just then, BG came out of her practice room in the same condition as Adren and Repeat; a swollen lip and an irritated look. "I need to practice more," she announced as she unscrewed her mouthpiece on her trumpet.

"I think we all do," Adren agreed.

BG rolled her eyes. "Not Polaroid; she could go on forever."

"That's cuz she's a flute," Repeat argued. "Flutists lips don't wear out as quickly."

"Exactly," BG said cocking an eyebrow. "A woodwind."

"Yuck." Adren made a face.

"Hey!" Repeat cried, looking offended and clutching her saxophone close to her. "I'm a woodwind too you know!"

Adren smirked. "Exactly."

"Instrument bashing," BG laughed as she and Adren slapped hands. "Gotta love it."

Repeat pushed her lip out in an over exaggerated pout. "Woodwinds rock."

"No way!" Both brass players exclaimed.

"Oh yeah?" Prince was standing in the doorway of the music hallway, hands on her hips. "Well, piano rules over all."

"Nuh uh!" BG shook her head vehemently.

"What is going on out here?" Polaroid poked her head out the door. "Is everyone done already?"

The girls burst out laughing at Polaroid's surprised face. "I think I missed something," Polaroid said to Prince as the sophomore girl came over.

"We were bashing instruments," Adren explained.

"Oh," Polaroid said, rolling her eyes. "That."

Polaroid's actions set the other girls off giggling again.

Prince turned to Polaroid. "I thought I'd find you here," she said. "I was wondering if you were going to take pictures of orientation. Melody was going to do some but she wasn't sure if you knew."

"Why didn't she just text me?" Polaroid asked pulling out her phone.

"She tried," Prince said, looking amused in a smug sort of way. "But since you weren't answering and I was leaving the dorm anyway, she asked me if I saw you to tell you to check your phone."

Polaroid was already doing so. "Jeeze," the junior girl's eyes widened. "She texted me like forty times!"

BG snickered as Prince dug an elbow into the other girl's ribs. Adren and Repeat exchanged glances; both were clearly amused.

"Speaking of which," Adren suddenly remembered. "I should probably check my phone too."

A text was sitting in her inbox from Laelyn. "braids & i r goin 2 breakfast. wanna meet up there?"

Adren looked up from her phone. "Is anyone else hungry?"

Prince shook her head. "I already ate. And Polaroid isn't allowed to go; she has to help me get ready for orientation." Prince winked at Polaroid.

"Do you mind if I come with you guys?" BG asked Prince and Polaroid. "I'm going back to the dorms anyway. I've still got some things to unpack."

"Sure thing," Polaroid said smiling.

Adren looked at Repeat. "You hungry?"

Repeat was about to answer but her stomach did it for her as it rumbled loudly. "Oh man!" Repeat looked embarrassed and blushed but giggled along with her fellow newsgirls.

"I'll take that as a yes," Adren said smiling as she texted Laelyn back.

"Will you guys be able to find your way there alright?" Polaroid asked.

"Meh, we'll figure it out," Adren said casually.

"Don't forget," BG reminded them. "Orientation is at noon, out on the big soccer field."

"We have a soccer team here?" Adren looked confused at Repeat, who looked equally surprised.

"Of course," Prince said airily. "It's more for fun than anything else though. The soccer field serves as an Ultimate Frisbee course as well."

"Oh," said Repeat clearly confused.

"See you girls at orientation then!" Prince waved as she, Polaroid, and BG headed out.

"I gotta put away my music first," Adren said. "I wish I had a folder," she said wistfully, as BG and Polaroid just took their folders with them.

"Yeah, me too." Repeat agreed as they went into the music room where the filing cabinet was. "But as soon as school starts, we'll get 'em. You did sign up for "The Music of _Newsies_" study right?"

"Of course!" Adren exclaimed. "It was one of my first choices!"

Repeat grinned. "Ditto."

(lalala)

"There you kids are," Laelyn greeted teasingly.

"We thought you'd never get here." Braids added.

"What's for breakfast?" Repeat asked eagerly.

"I'm going to try Mrs. Jacobs' soup," Adren said looking over the menu.

"If you're not super hungry," Braids offered "you could just try Nuns' Bread and some coffee."

Adren wrinkled her nose. "I hate coffee."

"Have hot chocolate then," Braids rolled her eyes. "Same idea."

"I'm starved," Repeat said, rubbing her once-again rumbling stomach.

"A knockworst is good," suggested Laelyn.

"I can't believe they actually have that kind of stuff on the menu," Adren said her eyes wide as she looked at the different choices.

"Didn't you notice it last night though?" Repeat asked.

Adren shrugged. "I was too wound up thinking about other stuff."

"Dreaming about Itey," Braids teased and Adren blushed. The night before, all the girls had formally introduced themselves to their dorm mates and of course, had to add who was their newsie-crush. Naturally, Adren said Itey.

"I wish I had a newsie dream," Laelyn said sadly as the four girls found a table. "I usually don't."

"I don't dream of newsies very often either." Adren sighed. "Wish I did."

"Last newsie dream I had, was about Dutchy," Repeat said thoughtfully. "Isn't that weird? I mean, my favorites are Specs and Jack, not Dutchy!"

"Don't let Corky hear you say that!" Braids teased. "If the Corkster found out you dissed her Dutch-Dutch, she'd do something drastic."

Laelyn laughed. "Yeah, probably." Last night, Corky had made it _very_ clear that Dutchy was her favorite newsie hands-down, no one else may steal her Dutch-Dutch, etc, etc. She was of course, nice about it, but the message had gotten across nonetheless: do not under any circumstances, dis Dutchy.

"But I didn't dis him!" Repeat protested. "He was a perfect gentleman in my dream; very cuddly too." She said the last part with a bit of a blush.

"That's almost worse!" Laelyn cried dramatically. "Dutchy's _cheating_ on Corky!"

By this time, all four girls were giggling which only got worse when Adren began to snort.

Once the girls regained their composure, they began to eat their breakfast and chat about newsies in general. Eventually the conversation moved to a lively debate on which type of fanfiction was better; a hard-core angst or a fluffy friendship fic. Adren found it very stimulating.

Finally, Braids glanced at her phone. "Oh wow guys, it's almost eleven thirty!" she exclaimed. "Orientation starts in a half hour!"

"What's the rush?" Repeat asked lazily. "A half hour is a long time."

"Not when you want to get good seats." Laelyn advised. "_Everyone_ goes to orientation; the field gets pretty packed."

"Besides," Braids chimed in. "They show the behind-the-scenes featurettes from the film on a screen before we start. Don't you guys want to experience those featurettes for the first time alongside _real_ fans?"

Adren's and Repeat's faces were a good enough answer for the two seniors.


	10. Orientation

**Ch. 10: Orientation **

By the time Braids, Laelyn, Repeat, and Adren got to the field, the featurette was blaring on a large projector screen and newsgirls were roaming everywhere.

"OH MY GOSH, IT'S RACETRACK!" screamed a nearby girl as Max Cassella's face filled the screen and she fainted into her friend's arms.

Polaroid and Melody were both running all around the field, snapping pictures of everyone and everything.

"Mwahaha!" T.A.R.K. cackled as he ran to and fro throughout the field creating mischief among the group.

Verbal fights broke out:

"SPOT IS THE KING OF BROOKLYN!"

"OH YEAH? WELL MANHATTANITES ARE KINGS OF _NEW YORK_!"

Repeat caught a glance of Cinderella and Misfit standing with each other, both clearly baffled. "I'm going to go talk to Cinderella and Misfit," she told Adren who nodded dazed.

"Uh huh, sure." Adren said, her eyes glazed over. The sight was overwhelming.

Braids trotted off to find Betchya and Gamester. Laelyn took hold of Adren's elbow and guided her towards the bleachers which were filled with screaming newsie fans. They climbed to the top where Pegasus and Stress were sitting.

"Aren't you supposed to be chasing after T.A.R.K.?" Laelyn asked as she and Adren sat beside the other two seniors.

Stress leaned against the railing and kept her eyes shut behind her sunglasses. "Ugh," she groaned. "Don't even mention that troublemaker to me. He's Quipster's problem today."

Laelyn looked amused but stood up again. "I think I see Hair and Corky down there in the crowd," she explained. "I'm going to go bring them up here." She winked at Adren. "Do you think I should tell Corky that Dutchy's cheating on her with Repeat?"

Adren grinned. "Not unless you want to get throttled."

"Good point." Laelyn started down the steps.

Pegasus looked at Adren quizzically. "What about Dutchy cheating on Corky?"

"Repeat one time had a dream about Dutchy being sweet on her. So Laelyn now teases her that she stole Dutchy from Corky." Adren explained, smiling.

Peg laughed. "Yeah, Corky would flip…in a sweet way of course."

"Corky doesn't flip," Stress mumbled. "She tumbles."

Adren was surprised and narrowed her eyes. "What is she talking about?" Adren whispered to Pegasus.

"She didn't sleep too well last night because of T.A.R.K.'s mischief," Peg explained, obviously concerned for her friend but looking very amused at the same time.

"But aren't you her roommate?" Adren asked. "Weren't you bothered too?"

Peg's smile widened. "The magic of earplugs are truly wonderful," she said, snickering a little. Beside her, Stress groaned again.

This time, Adren laughed too. It was a shame about T.A.R.K. but Stress's obvious crankiness and fatigue was entertaining. In response, Stress buried her head in Peg's shoulder.

"Wake me up when we start," she mumbled.

Over Stress's blondish brown head, Peg winked at Adren.

"MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!" boomed a voice and a great roar from the stands came up. The woman at the podium smiled. She was dressed as if from the early 1900s and looked to be in her mid fifties. She held up her hands to quiet the students.

Speaking into the microphone, she smiled and said; "Welcome returning students and our newbies. Welcome to the greatest school in the world, dedicated to the best musical ever created!" Another roar came from the students, clearly showing their approval.

"That's our principal, " Pegasus told Adren. "Miss Ballerd; she was around when the film first came out!"

"Looong time ago." Stress said, pulling off her sunglasses and rubbing her eyes. "1992. And here we are, in 2040."

"Seems unbelievable that it was that long ago," Pegasus said thoughtfully. "I mean, the fandom is still going, even almost 50 years later."

Adren had heard the fact before, but it never failed to strike her. Almost fifty years!

As if reading her mind, Stress grinned and said "Just shows how great that musical is."

"I wonder if they'll be able to get one of the boys to come and speak at the school for the 50th anniversary," Peg said thoughtfully. "I mean, didn't Dee Caspary come for the 40th anniversary?"

_SNITCH? SQUEE!_ was Adren's mental thought.

Stress shrugged. "I think so. Kenny Ortega was here for the school's opening, I know that."

Pegasus was about to say more, but Ms. Ballerd began to speak as the students stopped shouting.

"Now for you newbies, my name is Ms. Natasha Ballerd and I am principal here at the NML Academy.

I'm sure we're all in for a great year, celebrating the musical that brought us all together. I encourage all of you to make new pals this year and break out of your normal group of friends. We're a family here; try to be as welcoming as possible oldies and newbies, don't be afraid to ask questions!"

"Yeah yeah!" Stress jumped up with a sudden burst of energy, punching her fist in the air. Pegasus quickly pulled Stress down to her seat again, and instantly, Stress collapsed, snoring on Peg's shoulder. Pegasus simply rolled her eyes.

Adren looked at Stress, amused and then caught a glance of Peg's shirt. It was a tangerine colored t-shirt with a picture of David on the front. In a speech bubble, the words "Ah ha!" were written. Adren giggled but didn't comment and then turned her attention back to Ms. Ballerd.

Ms. Ballered, who now had a fond smile on her face, continued her speech. "In fact, I remember when I used to attend the NMLA, but back then, my NN was Spitfire." She sighed happily. "Oh those were the good old days…"

Pegasus leaned over to Adren. "Ms. Ballered can sometimes get a little spacey," she whispered. "She's been obsessed since the film came out and I don't think she ever recovered."

"That's almost creepy!" Adren whispered back.

Pegasus grinned. "I know!"

Ms. Ballered, or Spitfire, got her act back together in no time. "Anyways," she said with a bright smile. "Welcome to all of you, oldies and newbies. As is tradition at the NML Academy, we are going to present a viewing of the movie that started it all, right here on this field, once it gets dark. Until that time, please pick up your schedules, figure out dorm arrangements, explore the campus, get your picture taken, or anything else you need to do before we begin school tomorrow." Ms. Ballered beamed. "Always remember to carry the banner ladies!"

"CARRYIN' DA BANNAH!" The entire student body leaped to its feet and screamed the classic phrase at the tops of their lungs. It was so unexpected to Adren yet in a way it wasn't. Considering where she was, Adren figured it made sense. So, she yelled and hollered along with the rest of the girls for the entire world to hear.

Ms. Ballered waved proudly and soon the students began pounding out of the bleachers and onto the turf, squealing and "squee-ing" with excitement. Adren couldn't help but feel swept along by it.

Adren followed Pegasus and Stress as they expertly maneuvered their way through the crowd. She soon felt a hand grab hers though and looked back to see Repeat's wide green eyes. "This is madness!" Repeat shouted so that Adren could hear.

Adren could only nod back before looking ahead again, desperate not to lose Peg and Stress. Repeat kept a tight hold on her hand and Adren was grateful for the hold. It meant that she wasn't the only one to feel like she was being smothered. Adren's middle school wasn't much bigger than the NMLA, but she felt that there were more like three million people there rather than three hundred. Like Repeat had told her, it was madness!

Finally, the four girls reached a spot where they could take a breather and talk without having to shout. Adren flopped on the ground next to Stress as Repeat stood close to Pegasus.

"Crazy huh?" Pegasus said breathlessly, eyes wide. "I thought I was going to get trampled."

"That's why I led the way," Stress said knowingly. "You stumble a lot Peg."

Pegasus rolled her eyes. "I'm really feeling the love right now Stressie."

Stress smiled. "Sorry, but I'm a little crabby right now."

T.A.R.K., Adren mouthed to Repeat, after her questioning look. Repeat nodded her understanding.

"Anyway," Peg said, changing the subject. "Do you girls know where your classes are for tomorrow?"

Both newbies shook their heads wordlessly.

Peg let out a sigh. "Okay then, we should probably grab your schedules and find out. You don't want to be running around trying to find your classroom five minutes before the bell rings."

"Trust her," Stress agreed, rubbing her temples. "You really don't."

"Okay," Repeat said after looking at Adren. "So, do we go to the World or something?"

"If you don't have your schedules yet, then yes," Stress told her. She reluctantly got up. "Here, I'll come with you if you want."

"That'd be great," said Adren gratefully.

"Sorry, we're so much trouble," Repeat said shyly.

Stress looked at her surprised. "You're not," she said firmly. "Don't worry about it; I'm just acting a little cranky because of the lack of sleep."

"And her crabbiness rubs off on me," Peg said warmly. "That's the problem with being roommates with one of your best friends."

Adren looked at Repeat slyly. "I guess we shouldn't be really good friends then," she said seriously. "Or else we'll influence each other's moods."

"Or," Repeat answered, deadpan. "We'll just have to always stay happy."

"Like we are right now," Adren said her voice monotone. Repeat nodded and followed Peg, her face completely straight.

Adren only managed to keep her face serious for a few steps before her lips began quivering. Repeat glanced back at her roommate and both girls broke out into laughter simultaneously.

Pegasus and Stress looked back at the two younger girls and then without missing a step, shared a small giggle together.

(lalalalalala)

**I know, it's been almost a year since I updated. ~sheepish look~ I thought NaNoWriMo would help my fanfiction writing but...I guess not. Anyway, in case ya'll didn't know, Ms. Ballerd is a nod to Spitfire, one of the creators of the NML. :)**

**BIG thanks to Repeat for her emails that brought me back to the FFN/NML world. It's been a little too long... :( Anyway, apologies for not updating sooner. Thank you for reading!**

**CTB,**

**Adren**


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